Entries in Atlus
(8)

hen I was ridiculously unemployed, I was afforded the opportunity to see what the all hubbub was about with regards to Atlus' Persona series, starting with the excellent Persona 3. 130 hours later, I asked myself, “How could this series honestly get any better?” Immediately (and almost foolishly) I dove right into the then recently released Persona 4 and found the answer after another 110 hours: Persona 4 was hands down the greatest RPG I had played until then, and ended up being a game that was never matched.

It was a game so good that not only did I spring for the game again – in the form of the P4 Golden: Solid Gold Limited Edition for PlayStation Vita—I also bought a PlayStation Vita for that express reason alone. Yet another 100 hours well-spent.

Naturally, when Persona 5 was announced, I was pretty stoked: If P4 was able to so easily crush P3 with the kind of quality that dripped from its DVD case, what will Persona 5 do? Once again, new hardware was obtained to guarantee the best possible experience – in this case, the PlayStation 4. Another huge box was preordered to continue the Limited Collector's Edition streak that has so far remained unbroken. Was it worth the wait?

hile Atlus is currently cracking down on anyone who decides to stream/upload late gameplay of Persona 5, we’re pretty confident that there’s one pseudo-Persona game that they could give a shit about anyone posting—WE ACTUALLY DID A PLAY PLAY OF JACK BROS.

Out of the twelve or so games that made it to the Virtual Boy, Jack Bros is considered to be one of the rarest games out there, and it stars the cutest adaptions of Shin Megami Tensei bestiary in obnoxious red on black action. Join Ser and Georgie as they get down to the criminally overlooked tunes of Atlus’ mascot powered rogue-like dungeon crawler for the doomed Nintendo console.

he connotation behind a calendar date that celebrates the idea of sharing a romantic union with someone gets more crippling by the year to those who don’t have that privilege. Honestly, I blame a lot of that on this new, invisible layer of social pressure that’s been introduced by the internet, and the steadily increasing exposure it’s given the holiday in this tech-addicted generation.

Now, full disclosure; this feature doesn’t stem out of any kind of resentment over the relationship I just recently got out of shortly after Valentine’s, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it did help inspire the idea for the feature. I mean, I wasn’t really all that happy in it after the “butterflies” settled, and well, I’ve had plenty of experience being single too, and I’ve got to say, I really hate the negative stigma attached to the status quo, because I think it’s bull shit—you can totally be happy when you’re single.

In fact, I think people can live healthy, fruitful lives being single, and this outlook gets lost in some sort fearful crossfire between what you perceive is best for you, and what others may perceive is best for you—it’s bogus.

ack in the beginning, before George Kamitani and company started the Vanillaware brand, they worked on a project in conjunction with Sega and Atlus for the 2D Powerhouse that was the Sega Saturn; game that would become a Holy Grail of sorts on the platform before it would get rereleased again on the PSP—Princess Crown. So many accolades have been attributed to this title aside from it being the catalyst for Vanillaware, but after all this time, have those accolades held up? Should this game have seen a stateside release after all?

George doesn’t really think so, and is Andrew still excited for the game after all this time? Tune in and find out as well simultaneously discover just how good Ser’s Japanese really is, as we stumble around our understanding of it along for the ride.

his current edition of Now Showing is as Japanese as it gets. We’ve assembled a new collection of trailers that showcase the latest and greatest to come from the likes of Atlus, XSEED, Square Enix, and Nis America that prove that the JRPG is more than still just a thing, it’s a movement that’s still followed—Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

ragon's Crown is a game that was released in a volatile market. The video game industry was seeing, more or less, a dynamically progressive shift with some seriously heavy-handed feminism leading the charge regarding the depiction of women in video games. This was quite damning to Dragon's Crown's risqué (though admittedly beautiful) art direction. It was born into existence from a super-niche developer and a rapidly-fading publisher as a retail-released, 2D multi-platform game on the cusp of a next generation hardware launch. In addition, by and large, the public hasn't exactly paid much attention to it thanks to the impending Triple-A launch season. So now that all of the controversy has subsided and - more importantly - I've had a chance to play it extensively, It' time that Atlus and Vanillaware's Dragon's Crown got its final word.

The HBO adaption of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire line has made waves with prime time television this last year. So much so, that Atlus picked up the license rights to publish a video game -- a video game about the Game of Thrones, simply called Game of Thrones. Developed by Cyanide, the Seven Kingdoms enter the realm of modern gaming, catering to fans of the medieval drama. But while the appeal has support from the show’s following, Game of Thrones is, at best, a mediocre fantasy RPG, whether you’re a fan or not.

Relationships can be difficult; they can be frustrating, and take time and effort to be successful. This also describes the gameplay of Catherine, the first next generation title from the developers of the Persona series. Players take on the role of Vincent Brooks, a thirty-something who seems to be complacent in his relationship, and spends the majority of his time drinking at the bar with his friends. Though on one faithful evening, as Vincent is drowning in his sorrows, he meets someone who will send him on a downward spiral filled with nightmares, curses, sheep and blocks -- many, many blocks.